Creeper.



W. E. SUTTON. GREEPBR.

APPLIUATION ITILED' FEB-3, 1913. RENEWED MAR. 30, 1814 1,105,008. Patented July 28, 19m

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Snow d301 M12675. Saiion wuueowo 'I'HE NORRIS PETERS (4). PHOTO-LIIHOW lVASHINGTON. D. C.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT orr on WALTER n. SUTTON, or OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, AssIGNon or FORTY-TWO ONE- I-IUNDREDTHS r0 JOHN R. SUTTON, or OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

CREEPER.

Application filed February 3, 1913, Serial No. 745,918. Renewed March 30, 1914. Serial No. 828,390.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, IVALTER E. SUTTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oakland, in the county of Alameda and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Creepers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved form of creeper adapted to be worn on the soles of boots or shoes to enable the. wearer to obtain an effective tractive engagement or foothold with the surface over which he may be running or walking. t It is one of the objects of my invention to provide a creeper of light and simple construction which may be readily applied and v removed and which will conform and lie flat against the bottom face of the boot or shoe so that its application thereto will not prove a hindrance to thewearer.

My invention will be more fully described in connection with the accompanying drawings, and will be more particularly pointed out in and by the appended claims. I

In the drawings :-Figure 1 is a bottom face view of a boot or shoe wit-h the device of my invention applied thereto. 2 is a rear end view of a creeper embodying one form of my invention. Fig. 3 is a side edge view of one of the creeper strips.

Like characters of reference designate similar parts throughout the different figures of the drawings.

As illustrated, my invention comprises companion creeper strips 1 and 2, which in the preferred construction, are disposed in crossed relation with respect to each other and diagonally across the sole 3 and shank so as to extend from opposite sides of midway longitudinal points of the sole toward and abreast of the shank 4:. The forward terminals of the strips 1 and 2 are provided with bent up ends 5, 6 and 7 8, respectively, to form sole margin engaging lips. rear terminals have their ends bent up, as indicated at 9, 10 and 11, 12, respectively, to provide shank engaging lips. It will be readily seen by reference to Fig. 2 that the sole and shank engaging lips are arranged to extend abreast of the edge of these parts and to overhang the upper margins so as to provide a nrm grip engagement therewith. In order to further provide a firm engagement, I arrange the strips 1 and 2 in such a manner that they will engage the sole and shank on opposite sides, or mother words, forwardly and rearwardly of the usual out.- wardly curved portions 13. an'd 14 so as to prevent any longitudinalslipping of the; I

strips.

Each strip is provided with an opening winch is preferably in the shape of a letter F, as indicated at 15 and 16, and a pivot 17,

which may be-a loosely disposed rivet, unites the str1ps,'as Wlll be seen by reference to Specification of Letters Patent. Patented J u1y 28, 1914i Figs. 1 and 3. The greater lengths of the openings, as indicated at a, 00, are disposed in the direction of the length of the sole, when the strips are in[place,;and they are so positioned in the strips as to be located in the manner shown; The extensions 00 and x are adapted to register or lie in overlapping relation. The extensions r and m are preferably of the same length as indicated in thedrawing b-ut one may be shorter than the other if desired in order to accommodate a boot or shoe of" special shape. When the strips are removed from the boot or shoe the pivot can be adjusted to either lie in the short extensional; or in the long extension 00?, thereby altering the range of gripping action for different siz'esof footwear. If the pivot is in the short extension 00 the creeper-will be adjusted for rela tivelysmaller sized footwear, whereas if the I pivot is in the larger extension 00 the creeper will be adapted for larger sized foot-wear, as will hereinafter more fullyappear. Pointed calks or any suitable tractive projections 18 may be provided on the bottom faces of the strips to prevent the wearers feet from slipping.

The rear ends of the strips are provided with depending lugs 19, the flanges on both strips being identical, and each lug may be provided with a bolt head engaging lip 20. Oppositely threaded bolts 21 and .22 are loosely disposed in openings in the said lugs and the polygonal heads of the bolts engage the lips 20 so as to prevent rotation of the bolts. An oppositely tapped sleeve 23 is threaded on the bolts and is provided with openings 24 whereby the sleeve may be turned to draw the bolts inwardly and tighten the shank gripping lips against the opposite edges 'of the shank and the sole gripping lips against the opposite edges of the sole. The tightening means hereinbefore described will lie close to the shank and at a point above the plane of tread, as indicated at 2, so as not to encumber the wearer by engagement with the tread surface. The strips are curved transversely to the plane of their flat faces so as to conform to the curvature of the bottom face of the sole and shank thereby permitting the strips to lie in close flat relation against the bottom of the foot gear.

In order to dispose the crossing point of the strips in advance of the juncture of the shank with the sole and between the ends of the strips, I preferably curve the strips in opposite directions transversely with respect to their edges and I thereby bring the tractive calks 18 across that portion of the sole which is in most effective engagement with a plane of tread, either in running or walking or when the user is pulling a load. By this disposition of the strips I also advance the crossing points so as to get the most effective leverage in gripping the shank and sole terminals with the footgear.

While I have herein shown and described one specific embodiment of my invention I do not wish to, be limited thereto except for such limitations as the claims may import.

I claim 1. A creeper for boots comprising in combination, companion creeper strips disposed in crossed relation and each extending diagonally from a longitudinal midway point of the margin of the sole on one side of the boot across to the opposite side thereof abreast ofthe shank, the terminals of said strips having sole-and shank margin engaging lips and being curved transversely to theplane of their sldes to conform to the curvature of the bottom face of the sole and shank thereby lying fiat thereagainst, said strips being also curved transversely in opposite directions with respect to their edges to dispose the crossing point in advance of the juncture of the shank and the sole, each strip being provided with an F shaped opening affording relatively long and short registering terminals a pivot in said openings arranged to be shifted from the long to the short terminals or vice versa to vary the range of grip of the strips, and means connected with the shank ends of the strips for gripping the shank and sole terminals of the strips with the boot sub- I stantially as described.

2. A creeper for boots comprising in combination, companion creeper strips disposed in crossed relation and each extending diagonally across the sole from one side of the boot to the other, the terminals of said strips having sole and shank margin engaging lips-and each strip being provided with an F shaped opening afi'ording relatively long and short registering terminals, a pivot in said openings arran ed to be shifted from the long to the short terminals or vice versa to vary the range of grip of the strip, and means connected with the strip for tightening the same upon the boot.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature in presence of two witnesses WALTER E. SUTTON.

Witnesses F. I. SGHROEDER, JOHN R. SUTTON.

.Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Eatents,

Washington, I). C. 

